


Charades and Secrets

by Peppermint_Miraculous (Peppermint_Shamrock)



Series: Peppermint's Ladynoir July One-Shots [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Ladynoir July
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 07:12:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15189536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peppermint_Shamrock/pseuds/Peppermint_Miraculous
Summary: For as long as he could remember, Adrien had believed that Chloé was his soulmate.Until he met Ladybug.Written for Ladynoir July Day 6 Prompt - Secrets





	Charades and Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> A continuation of my soulmate AU, this time, from Adrien's perspective. I recommend reading the first part (Day 1) first, to understand Ladybug's reaction here, but it's not necessary.

Adrien had yet to find an answer to the dilemma he had found himself in ever since his first day as a superhero.

He had two soulmates.

Well, not really. At least, he didn’t think so. He’d never heard of someone having multiple soulmates, or having the soulmate connection trigger a second time, and given that he could not even recall the first time he met Chloé – he had to conclude that she was never his soulmate to begin with. One of two things must have happened:

One – Being both sheltered, and very young (probably two or three, he couldn’t be sure), the two of them had mistaken the excitement of meeting a new person for the soulmate connection.

Two – Chloé alone had experienced the soulmate connection upon their first contact, and Adrien had not argued when she announced it, not knowing any better.

He hoped, for Chloé’s sake, that the former was the case. Being Mismatched was rare, but it was a sad situation that he wouldn’t wish upon anyone, least of all when he was involved.

Regardless of what was the case, both of their parents had evidently accepted that the two of them were soulmates, and encouraged it. Perhaps because it was an advantageous arrangement between their families, perhaps because their families thought it would protect them later in life (Adrien knew of other, Prematched models whose fans would literally throw themselves at them, desperate to touch them in a wild attempt to trigger a soulmate connection – it was probably similar for people from powerful families like Chloé’s), but at any rate, for as long as he could remember, Adrien had believed that Chloé was his soulmate.

Until he met Ladybug.

Sometimes Adrien wondered at how easily he was able to accept that what he’d believed his entire life was false, but there was something just so incredible about the feeling when he met her, something so _right_ about it. And every interaction since then had only reinforced that. Ladybug never ceased to amaze him – she was just, just so _cool_ , and strong, and smart, and awesome beyond words. He’d never felt like that with anyone else; he was certain he was in love with her.

The problem, then, was that he was still supposedly soulmates with Chloé. Adrien had always been uncomfortable with her…overly affectionate gestures, but now they were unbearable as they made him feel like he was an Unfaithful. He didn’t want to be unfaithful to Ladybug; he loved her and knew he was meant to be with her. But he was a loss as to what to do about Chloé, and had almost no one to get advice from, considering the circumstances.

Plagg was the only one Adrien didn’t have to keep any secrets from. Plagg was also entirely unhelpful in this matter. All his advice involved cheese.

His next option was asking Ladybug herself, explaining the situation to her and seeing what she said to do. That would be the easiest thing for him, for he knew that he would do whatever she advised him, without question. And he knew Ladybug would be able to figure out a solution; she always did. There was one problem: any information that could lead to their true identities had to be kept secret, and with how rare it was to meet your soulmate at a young age and how publicized both his and Chloé’s lives were…it would be too much of a giveaway to explain the situation.

His third option was one of his school friends. While Adrien obviously couldn’t reveal that he was Chat Noir, or that his soulmate was Ladybug (as revealing the latter would certainly reveal the former, everyone knew Ladybug and Chat Noir were soulmates), he could probably get away with explaining some of the situation – that he had been too young to remember meeting Chloé, and had now met his real soulmate – as long as no one wanted to meet or know who his soulmate was.

Nino was the obvious choice, but Adrien already suspected the kind of advice he would get. Nino didn’t believe in soulmates…at least, not the way most people did. From what Adrien gathered, Nino’s advice would be to ignore the soul system entirely, as people “got too worked up and unhappy” because of it. Adrien’s dilemma would just be further proof of that viewpoint. Adrien respected his friend’s opinion and was intrigued by it, but he was also far too much of a romantic to ever agree with it.

Marinette was another option. She always made him feel safe, so he felt comfortable seeking advice from her on personal, vulnerable matters like this. However, she also _really_ didn’t get along with Chloé, so her advice would likely be biased at best.

Adrien wished his mother was still around. She would’ve known what to do.

In the end, he decided to take the risk of consulting with Ladybug. He would change some details to protect his identity, but otherwise explain the situation to the best of his ability.

“If this is another ‘I need you to record me doing a sick flip off a famous monument’, I’m turning right around,” Ladybug threatened playfully in greeting as she arrived at the spot he’d earlier asked to meet her at. Despite his nervousness, Adrien smiled.

“Now, my Lady, why would I ask that of you when the Ladyblogger has _eagerly_ volunteered several times?”

“And by ‘eagerly volunteered’, you mean ‘instigated’,” Ladybug shook her head, unsuccessfully hiding her smile. “I’m certain at least half of your stunts that she’s filmed were her idea.”

“Hey, I trust her judgement.”

“It’s okay, I won’t let your mistakes affect our partnership.”

“I can’t tell if that’s a dig at me or her,” he said. “But actually, I asked to meet because I…well, I need your advice. You see, there’s something I haven’t told you about.”

Ladybug nodded, her playful demeanor instantly switching into professional mode. He marveled at how easily she could do that.

“Is it something personal?” she asked cautiously. He understood what she was asking. _Is it something that involves your secret identity?_

“Sort-of,” he said, hesitating when she tensed. “It’s not…I mean, part of the reason why I didn’t tell you before was because it’s a personal thing. But it also involves, well, us. So I can’t ask anyone else about this. Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly, already seeing her hesitance to approach anything with this sort of risk. “I’ve gone over what I’m going to say with my Kwami, so I won’t reveal anything I shouldn’t.”

Ladybug relaxed, but remained cautious. Adrien took a deep breath. This was hard…it was so much easier to be vulnerable with his school friends than his soulmate and partner. There was something wrong with that picture, but Adrien put that to the back of his mind to focus on the issue at hand, and closed his eyes as he recited the words he had practiced over and over earlier.

“A friend of mine believes that she and I are soulmates. Everyone else believes that as well. It’s been going on a while. I can’t tell you how long, and I can’t tell you exactly why this happened. I feel like I’m betraying you by continuing to go along with the charade, but I don’t know how to get out of it.”

Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. Ladybug’s expression was hard to read, but she didn’t seem angry, as he had feared.

“This girl…she’s my friend, I care for her, but not like a soulmate. I don’t have feelings for her; I never have,” he continued, not wanting Ladybug to get the wrong idea. Oddly, it didn’t seem to reassure her any – at least not that he could tell, she was still guarded. “She, on the other hand…I think she has feelings for me, or at the very least, she puts on quite the show of them. She’s also the type who’s used to getting what she wants.”

Plagg had suggested other phrasing, but Adrien had shot it down as too mean-spirited.

“I see,” Ladybug said, her tone just as unreadable as her expression. Oh, Adrien hoped she wasn’t mad. “That is a difficult situation to be in…”

“Which is why I came to you for advice. Not just because it concerns you, as my soulmate, but because you’re good – no, amazing – at getting out of difficult situations.”

“Supervillains are much easier to deal with than soulmates and love,” she said, quietly, almost subdued.

“Hey, I resent that,” he said playfully, trying to inject some lightheartedness into the conversation. She gave him a half-hearted smile in return, and started pacing along the roof. Adrien wondered if there was something more behind that reaction, but didn’t dwell on it. Perhaps she was just empathizing with his issue as she tried to figure it out.

“You can’t tell anyone that who your soulmate is, but somehow have to prove to her and everyone else that this girl isn’t your real soulmate. Furthermore, she’s likely to be upset by this revelation, as she truly believes you are her soulmate. You’ve committed to this for some time, so both of your reputations will be damaged by admitting that your relationship is a farce. People may doubt you, especially when you can’t produce your real soulmate, and assume you’re Unfaithful. Is that a good summary of the problem?”

“Uh…yeah, pretty much,” Adrien said, rubbing his neck.

“Hmm…the first issue is her belief. The best solution would be for her to come to the truth on her own, perhaps by meeting her own soulmate. However, if she’s Mismatched, as it sounds like she is, this won’t happen. The next best thing would be to talk to her, privately, and tell her that you never experienced the soulmate connection and that you can’t keep doing this. Ideally, don’t mention having met me, but if you have to, just don’t mention that it’s, well, me. She may not take it well, but it’s better than confronting her publicly.”

“The second issue is reputation. I think, no matter what, you’re going to have a backlash if you come out and say you aren’t soulmates. To minimize it, both you and the girl need to be on the same page, both privately and publicly. To avoid it, you can continue pretending to be soulmates in the eyes of everyone else.”

“You’d be okay with that?” Adrien asked in surprise. “You wouldn’t think I was being Unfaithful?”

“I would be fine with it,” she said, her voice taking on a strange, sad tone again. She stopped pacing, but didn’t look him in the eyes. “It wouldn’t be fair of me to get upset when…” her voice faded, then came back. “I mean, I understand the situation. Our status as soulmates is wrapped up in secrecy, and the fewer who know about it, the better. So continuing as though nothing has changed may be the best route to avoid prying questions.”

“That makes sense,” Adrien said, and plopped himself down on the edge of the roof, his feet dangling over the edge. Ladybug sat herself down next to him. “But she’s very…affectionate, and I don’t want that. It’s not fair to you.”

“Do you not want it only because of me?”

“Well, no…I’ve never been all that comfortable with it. I’ve just never had a reason to object to it, before.”

Ladybug looked at him strangely.

“Being uncomfortable is reason enough,” she said, as though it was obvious. “Even between soulmates, it’s normal to have boundaries. Tell her to stop. Even if you tell her nothing else, tell her that.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Adrien said. And for her, he supposed it was. After all, she would easily push him away during battles, when she wanted to be more professional. And she had such a presence, such charisma, too – telling someone to stop was probably as easy as breathing for her. It wasn’t the same for him. “I’ll…try, I guess. But as I said, she’s used to getting her way.”

“I don’t think I like your friend very much, kitten,” Ladybug said, frowning. He hid a small smile, thinking of the times they’d had to deal with Chloé during Akuma attacks. Ladybug certainly wasn’t wrong in her assessment. “She shouldn’t be walking over you like that.”

“I know,” he said.

_I’m not like you. There’s a reason you captured my heart when you stood up to Papillon. Because that was something I would never be capable of. I don’t know how to stand up to people, not with words, at least._

He said none of that. He couldn’t. Ladybug probably wouldn’t understand. She could fight as well with words as with her fists. He knew how to handle a weapon, but with words…well, his skill with words only extended as far as wordplay, not persuasion. The only ways he knew to get people to do things were threats and bribery, neither of which he could use effectively on Chloé. He knew there had to be other ways, Ladybug proved that much, but he just didn’t know how to use them.

But maybe…he could learn. He had the best soulmate in the world to learn from, after all.

“Thank you, my Lady.”

“Of course,” she said. “Anytime.”

Her smile still did not reach her eyes.


End file.
